Bahmani, Mahmoud.

Eftekhari, Zohreh.

Jelodari, Mahyar.

Moradifar, Mahnaz.

Saki, Kourosh.

Shahsavari, Somayeh.

shahrekord university of medical scinces

Advanced Herbal Medicine, 2015; 1(2): 1-3.*Corresponding author: Food and Beverages Safety Research Center, Urmia University of MedicalSciences, Urmia, I.R. Iran, Tel: 00986633203200, E-mail: mahmood.bahmani@gmail.com.1herbmed.skums.ac.irDEAR EDITORSilybum marianum is a dicotyledon andgamopetalous herb. This species is an annualor biennial plant of the Asteraceae family thatcan grow in warm climates with sandy soils.The height of these plants is varied between150 and 250 cm. The leaves are wide andfragile which in earlier steps of growingseason reveal as a rosette on the ground.Silybum marianum or milk thistle gets itsname from the milky white fluid that comesfrom the plant’s leaves when they are crushed.Petioles are long, oval and prickly (Figure 1).1Fig 1: Silybum marianum plantSilybum marianum also known asMaritighal (Persian), Milk thistle fruit(English); Akub (Arabic), Chardon – marie(French), Echte mariendistel (German) andCardo Mariano (Italian), grows widely insome parts of Iran. Its fruit and seeds havebeen used since ancient times for treatment ofdisorders of the liver, bile ducts, andgallbladder. The medicinal effects of this plantare due to the presence of a flavonolignansgroup which is called silymarin. Silymarin is amixture of different types of flavonoids,water-insoluble and soluble in alcoholcompounds. The seeds of milk thistle are agood source of five kinds of  flavonoidsincluding Silibin, IsoSilibin, Silidianin,Silichristine and doxyfuline.2 In traditionalmedicine, milk thistle has been used asadrenergic, anti-allergic, anti -cancer (cancerof the prostate, ovary, uterus and breasts),anti-depressants, antitoxic, anti-fungal toxin,anti-hepatotoxic, anti-edema, anti-inflammation, anti-leukotrienes, antioxidants,anti-prostaglandins, antiviral as well aslaxative, diaphoretic, food digester, liverprotector, lowering of blood fat, reducing ofcholesterol, sympatholytic agent, 3-8Therapeutic effects and pharmaceutical products manufacturedfrom milk thistle (Silybum marianum) in IranKourosh Saki1, Zohreh Eftekhari2, Mahyar Jelodari3,Somayeh Shahsavari4, Mahnaz Moradifar5, Mahmoud Bahmani6*1Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, I.R. Iran; 2Institute of BiomedicalResearch, Postdoc of Veterinary Medicine, Tehran University, Tehran, I.R. Iran; 3Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, I.R. Iran; 4Research and Technology,Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; 5Research and Technology, Islamic Azad University,Ahvaz, Iran; 6Food and Beverages Safety Research Center, Urmia University of MedicalSciences, Urmia, I.R. Iran.Received: 5/Feb/2015 Accepted: 23/Mar/2015Letter to editorSaki K, et al. Silybum marianum: therapeutic and pharmaceutical effects2lipoxygenase inhibitor, inhibitor of cAMPphosphodiesterase, producing of glutathione,reducing the amount of bile and aphrodisiacfor fatty liver. Silybum marianum seedsprevent liver damage, so it can decrease therate of related disorders such as byalcoholism,9-14 hepatitis, cirrhosis and fatty liver. The useof milk thistle is proved by E Commission asone of the best known treatment for treatmentof cirrhosis. Milk thistle can alleviate the liverproblems caused by overuse of somemedications such as the acetaminophen,alleviate the symptoms due to eating ofpoisonous mushrooms and can also neutralizethe effects of psoriasis (Figure 2).15-20Fig 2: Silymarin StructureThe traditional forms of use of milk thistle areincluding tincture and herbal tea. To prepareherbal tea briefly, 3.5 grams of milk thistleseeds is added to 150 ml of boiling water andthe mixture is steeped for 10-15 minutes. Theherbal tea is then strained, sweetened if sodesired, and served half an hour before meals(3-4 times daily). In the case of tinctures, 15-25 drops/day/ 4-5 times should be servedbefore taking the alcohol evaporated.Pharmaceutical products including legalontabletas, livergol tabletas, Durasilymarin,drops and tablets of hegrimarin and silymarinsupplements are available on the market ofmedicinal plants. The prescribtion of theseherbal drugs in patients with cirrhosis, whoconcurrently use aspirin, may increase themetabolism of aspirin. The concurrent use ofthis herb with tacrine (Tacrine) probably canreduce the side effects of cholinergic. Tacrineis a drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease.Hepatoprotective effects of thistle can reduceliver toxicity of acetaminophen andchemotherapy. If this plant usedsimultaneously with common anti-diabeticdrugs, a severe drop in blood sugar levels canbe occurred. Although the use of this plantusually not be expected to cause any adverseeffects on pregnancy and lactation, it shouldbe used with caution and under medicalsupervision.21-24 Due to the interestingproperties of milk thistle such as healthy,minimal drug interactions, effectiveness aswell as being rich sources of flavonoids andantioxidants, further clinical studies arerequired to understand other miraculouseffects of this valuable medicinal plant andsubsequently to produce more naturalremedies.REFERENCES1. Ghahreman A. Flora of Iran. Tehran: ThePublication of Research Institute of Forests andRangelands, 1992.2. Subramaniam S, Vaughn K, Carrier DJ,Clausen EC. Pretreatment of milk thistle seed toincrease the silymarin yield: an alternative topetroleum ether defatting. Bioresour Technol.2008; 99(7): 2501-6.3. Zargari A. Herb Production. Tehran:Publication of Astan Quds Razavi. 1985.4. Fintelmann V. Modern phytotherapy and itsuses in gastrointestinal conditions. Planta Med.1991; 57(7 Suppl): 48-52.5. Luper S. A review of plants used in thetreatment of liver disease: part 1. Altern MedRev. 1998; 3(6): 410-21.6. Preparation Committee of Herbal Pharmacopeof Iran. Herbal Pharmacope of Iran. Tehran:Ministry of Health, Treatment & MedicinalEducation. Deputy of Food and Drug, 2003.7. Mukhtar H, Elmets CA. Photocarcinogenesis:mechanisms, models and human healthimplications. Photochem Photobiol. 1996; 63(4):356-7.Advanced Herbal Medicine, 2015; 1(2): 1-3.3How to cite the article: Saki K, Eftekhari Z, Jelodari M, Shahsavari S, Moradifar M, Bahmani M.Therapeutic effects and pharmaceutical products manufactured from herb milk thistle(Silybum marianum) in Iran. Adv Herb Med. 2015; 1(2): 1-3.8. Amirghofran Z, Azadbakht M, Karimi MH.Evaluation of the immunomodulatory effects offive herbal plants. J Ethnopharmacol. 2000;72(1-2): 167-72.9. Lahiri-Chatterjee M, Katiyar SK, MohanRR, Agarwal R. A flavonoid antioxidant,silymarin, affords exceptionally high protectionagainst tumor promotion in the SENCARmouse skin tumorigenesis model. Cancer Res.1999; 59(3): 622-32.10. Hikino H, Kiso Y, Wagner H, Fiebig M.Antihepatotoxic actions of flavonolignans fromSilybum marianum fruits. Planta Med. 1984;50(3): 248-50.11. Dragsted LO. Natural antioxidants inchemoprevention. Arch Toxicol. 1998; 20:209-26.12. Katiyar SK. Silymarin and skin cancerprevention: Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant andimmunomodulatory effects (Review). Int JOncol. 2005; 26(1): 169-76.13. Gupta OP, Sing S, Bani S, Sharma N,Malhotra S, Gupta BD, et al. Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities ofsilymarin acting through inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase. Phytomedicine. 2000; 7(1): 21-4.14. Horvath ME, Gonzalez-Cabello R,Blazovics A, van der Looij M, Barta I, MuzesG, et al. Effect of silibinin and vitamin E onrestoration of cellular immune response afterpartial hepatectomy. J Ethnopharmacol. 2001;77(2-3): 227-32.15. Katiyar SK, Korman NJ, Mukhtar H,Agarwal R. Protective effects of silymarinagainst photocarcinogenesis in a mouseskin model. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1997;89(8): 556-66.16. Vayalil PK, Elmets CA, Katiyar SK.Treatment of green tea polyphenols inhydrophilic cream prevents UVB-inducedoxidation of lipids and proteins, depletion ofantioxidant enzymes and phosphorylation ofMAPK proteins in SKH-1 hairless mouse skin.Carcinogenesis. 2003; 24(5): 927-36.17. Hasanloo T, Kowsari M, Naraghi SM,Bagheri O. Study of different Trichodermastrains on growth characteristics and silymarinaccumulation of milk thistle plant. J PlantInteract. 2010; 5(1): 45-9.18. Kren V, Walterova D. Silybin and silymarin--new effects and applications. Biomed Pap MedFac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub.2005; 149(1): 29-41.19. Dermardersian A. The review of naturalproducts. Facts and comparisons. 1st ed. USA:Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2001; 405-409.20. Osuchowski M, Johnson V, He Q, Sharma R.Alterations in regional brain neurotransmitters bysilymarin, a natural antioxidant flavonoidmixture, in BALB/c mice. Pharm Biol. 2004;42(4-5): 384-9.21. Hu Z, Yang X, Ho PC, Chan SY, Heng PW,Chan E, et al. Herb-drug interactions: a literaturereview. Drugs. 2005; 65(9): 1239-82.22. Shahrouz S, Ghazyani T, Masgarpour B,Shafiei A. Comprehensive Textbook of OfficialDrug. Tehran: Publication TymvrzadhPhysician. 2008; 823.23. Bekhradi MR. A novel herbal therapy. Yes:Baryj Essence Pharmaceutical Company, 2003;69-247.24. Barnes J, Anderson LA, Phillipson JD.Herbal Medicines. London: PharmaceuticalPress. 2007; 429-34.

Therapeutic effects and pharmaceutical products manufactured from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) in Iran

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